One of many Cornell college students who was named in a civil lawsuit by a former undergraduate scholar generally known as Jane Doe, has requested a choose to drop him from the go well with.
The lawsuit claimed that in an alleged 2024 gang rape, Diego Sarabia approached Jane Doe, “grabbed her face and began kissing her, all with out her consent,” earlier than she pushed him away.
Doe’s lawsuit additionally alleged Sarabia was among the many Chi Phi fraternity brothers who allegedly snorted ketamine off her physique.
In a movement Friday to dismiss Jane Doe’s grievance, James Knox, Sarabia’s lawyer, wrote that Doe didn’t allege in her go well with that Sarabia “equipped her with medicine or alcohol, participated in any of the alleged sexual encounters described elsewhere within the grievance, or was even current for many of the conduct that varieties the idea of plaintiff’s broader allegations.”
Chalk messages studying “1300 reviews in residence halls” and “No Justice” are written on a sidewalk on the Ag Quad in Ithaca, New York, October 14, 2026.
Matt Burkhartt/Reuters
All seven frat brothers have denied wrongdoing and Sarabia argued he was not a part of probably the most extreme conduct alleged within the lawsuit.
“So far as defendant goes, that is basically a lawsuit about an allegedly compelled kiss,” Knox wrote in a Friday movement to dismiss Jane Doe’s grievance.
College students stroll on the campus of Cornell College, October 10, 2026 in Ithaca, New York.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Photographs
The lawyer argued it’s now too late for Jane Doe to convey a declare in opposition to Sarabia.
“Any intentional tort arising out of that alleged conduct is foreclosed by a strict one-year statute of limitations as a result of plaintiff commenced this motion almost two years after the alleged occasions,” Knox wrote.
Doe’s lawyer has not but filed a response to the movement.
The movement got here per week after a New York choose rejected a request by Sarabia’s attorney to impose a gag order.
Knox argued {that a} gag order would restrict “potential juror prejudice” and stop the potential launch of delicate info that would result in ” threats, doxing, intimidation, and extrajudicial contact.”
Decide Phaedra Perry-Bond referred to as the request a “aspect present” that is “meant to muddy the waters and distract from the deserves of the claims and defenses concerned on this case.”
The headquarters of the closed Chi Phi fraternity chapter is proven at Cornell College, amid an investigation involving seven of the fraternity’s members dealing with sexual assaults allegations, in Ithaca, New York, Oct. 6, 2026.
Angelina Katsanis/Reuters
New York Legal professional Basic Letitia James, who was appointed particular prosecutor by Gov. Kathy Hochul, is conducting an investigation into the incident. Cornell, which stated it totally helps the appointment of a particular prosecutor, can be conducting an inside probe of its response to the allegations.
Cornell has stated it takes allegations of allegations of sexual violence “extraordinarily critically” and that it “investigated and adjudicated the allegations per college insurance policies.”
On the identical time, the college has stated it’s dedicated to taking further steps to enhance campus security.
The case has rocked the college and began conversations about treatment of sexual assault allegations on school campuses throughout the nation.
